Objective
Offline WorkFlows is used to perform circulation activities when access to the USMC Symphony ILS server is not available. USMC staff can use this module to record circulation transactions locally. The offline data may be loaded to the server when access to the system is restored.
Keeping Workstation Offline Files Up-to-date
Typically, a workstation running Offline WorkFlows is used to record circulation activity when the server is down. It is important that offline configuration files are properly maintained on every Symphony WorkFlows workstation in the event of an emergency such as a network or system failure. Follow these steps in order to keep your workstation up-to-date and ready in case you need to use the Offline module. You only need to do this once.
- Start the Symphony WorkFlows client, and connect to the server.
- Verify that the verifylist, config, dumpdate, and delinq files are automatically transferred from the ILS server to your workstation. These files reside under the C:\Program Files (x86)\Sirsi\JWF\Configure directory. If you do not have full control on the c:\Program Files (x86)\Sirsi\JWF\Configure folder, at a minimum make sure to copy the verifylist file to this directory. The rest of the files are optional.
Using the Offline Module When Symphony is not Available
When the Symphony server is unavailable and you need to record your library circulation activities, follow these steps to use WorkFlows in offline mode:
- Start the SirsiDynix Symphony WorkFlows client. In the Configuration window, select the Operate in Offline Mode check box, and click OK.
- Select the Offline toolbar.
- Click the Offline Session Settings wizard.
- In the Set Session Settings wizard window, do the following:
- Select the User Access (e.g. SAN_DIEGO9). If the User Access and Library options are blank, please review step #2 under "Keeping Workstation Files Up-to-date for Offline" above.
- Select the Library of the station that will record the offline transactions.
- Accept the current date and time.
- You may enter a default due date or leave this entry blank
- Specify a location for the log file that will contain the offline transactions. By default, the log file is created under: c:\Users\user_login\Sirsi\Workflows\LOG.
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You may set up the “use user delinquent list file” option based on whether you want to use the delinquency file or not. This step is optional. The delinquency file contains a list of users with a Delinquent, Blocked, or Barred status. Here is an example of what this file looks like:
08300043431|BARRED|
08300098084|BARRED|
01500008675|BLOCKED|
083000099430|BARRED|
022000000321|BLOCKED|
013000000221|BLOCKED|
110000456543|BLOCKED|
091000232345|DELINQUENT|
091000123456|DELINQUENT|
- Once you have set up your desired values for the offline transactions, click OK.
- Use the Offline wizards while the server is not available. As you work, transactions are stored to the log directory you specified in Step #4. Each time you use the offline mode in WorkFlows, circulation transactions will be appended to your specific log file. The log file will continue to record transactions until the workstation can connect to the server again. Here is a data excerpt from the transaction log:
E201204140010090001I ^S01JYFFALBANY09^FEALBANY^UODUMMYUSER^UMALBANY^uFDUMMYUSER^uLDUMMYUSER ^uV0^PEALBPUB^UZ04/14/2000^UL1^UkDUMMYUSER^OM^IbENGLISH^Fv3000000^^O00126
E201204140014580001I ^S02CVFFALBANY09^FEALBANY^NQ06300000000012^UO063000000009^CF04/30/2012^OM ^YPN^Fv3000000^^O00090
Transferring the Offline Transactions to the Symphony Server
When the server becomes available again, the recorded transactions will be automatically transferred to the server where they will be added to the database.
- Start WorkFlows and clear the Operate in Offline Mode check box, then click OK.
- When you connect to Symphony, the log file will be automatically transferred to the server and removed from your workstation.
- Your system administrator will be responsible for loading the circulation transactions to Symphony. Your transactions will be visible in the system at the top of the hour.
